Over 400 cyclists battled through early rain, headwinds and slippery roads in today's eighth running of The Johnny Warren Jamberoo Classic. The Classic is a 100km road ride from Loftus in Southern Sydney along the coast to the small town of Jamberoo near Kiama, and is a charity fundraiser for the Sydney Cancer Centre at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Starting at Loftus the bunch, lead out by Athens Olympic track gold medallist and multiple world champion Stephen Wooldridge, filed South along the Princes Highway before the descent into the Royal National Park with roads wet from overnight rain and drizzle during the morning. Of course what goes down generally goes up and soon enough the riders were climbing back out of the park along the road to Otford. The climb is a fairly steady grade with a few undulations to recover on and about 3-4 kilometres in length. With the mist in the air and the rain clearing during the ride through the rainforest it's no wonder that this route is a popular haunt for many Sydney-siders and Wollongong locals alike.

With the normally spectacular ocean views to Wollongong blocked by rain and mist the riders descended the steep Bald Hill, a popular coastal hangliding launching spot, before running straight into a block headwind along Sea Cliff Bridge. It was about this time that my riding partner for the day Martin from Rocky Trail Entertainment commented "I've never sat in a bunch doing 19km's an hour before!" After twenty more undulating and slightly faster kilometres the now strung out bunch regrouped and refulled at North Wollongong beach before continuing South for the final 40km's to Jamberoo.

Past Shellharbour the riders headed inland to the Jamberoo valley and the unofficial finishing post of the Jamberoo Pub. Unoffical as the actual finishing line was past the pub and around the corner in the park. After 100km's and riding past an inviting old pub it was too good to refuse for many and the water bottles were ditched in favour of the schooner right then and there.

Starting out in 2003 with 25 riders for a segment on SBS The Johnny Warren Jamberoo Classic has swelled in numbers over the years to over 400 this year. Many find the relaxed ride along great roads and for a great cause a tough combination to miss out on. Traditionally held on the first Sunday in January leave this date free for 2011 and enjoy 'The Classic'.

Photos: Enduro Pulse